14th annual Niagara Celtic Heritage Festival to continue Celtic traditions in Western New York

by jmaloni

Submitted

Fri, Sep 5th 2014 07:00 am

Weekend-long event projected to attract more than 12,000 guests

Celtic tradition comes back to Niagara USA with the 14th
annual Niagara Celtic Heritage Festival & Highland Games, set to take place
Sept. 13-14 at Krull Park in the hamlet of Olcott Beach (just an hour away from
both Buffalo and Rochester).

Guests will have the chance to immerse themselves in the rich
traditions and pageantry of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Live Celtic music,
dancers, sports, clans, re-enactors, vendors, food, contests and children's
activities will come together to make the festival memorable for all.

The honorary chief of this year's festival is Archibald Angus Charles
Kennedy, 8th Marquess of Ailsa, 19th Earl of Cassillis
and international chief of Clan Kennedy from Scotland. In addition, Clan
Henderson will have its national meeting at the festival with representatives
attending from all over the U.S., including the U.S. Clan chief.

The festival will feature a variety of special events, including a dart
tournament, rugby matches, the second annual Niagara Celtic 5K, a cannon firing
and arms demonstration, ceremonial parades and Highland Games' opening and
closing ceremonies.

The Niagara Celtic Heritage Society, which hosts the annual festival,
aims to restore, preserve and promote Celtic culture for generations to come,
as well as support the historic Krull Park at Olcott Beach. With an estimated
one third of the region's population (up to 500,000 people) speculated as
having Celtic ancestry and tens of thousands of people attending Celtic events
across Western New York every year, this
large-scale event celebrates the Celtic heritage in a way that entertains and
educates guests at the same time.

"We have been fortunate to see attendance significantly grow every year
since we began this festival in 2001," said festival co-director Phil Banks.
"We see guests of all ages come to this festival from all over the United
States and Canada, as well as visitors from Europe, Australia and other
countries."

Admission to the Niagara
Celtic Heritage Festival is $20 per person on Saturday,
Sept. 13, and $12 per person Sunday, Sept. 14. Kids ages 12 and under are free.
Weekend passes are $25. Parking is free. For more information about the
festival, including the latest schedule of events, visit www.NiagaraCeltic.com
or call 716-778-5730.

Leading up to the festival, the Niagara Tourism Convention Corp. will provide
ticket giveaways to social media users. Check NTCC's Facebook and Twitter pages
at www.facebook.com/NiagaraFallsUSA
and @NiagaraFallsUSA for a chance to win tickets.

The Niagara Celtic Heritage Society Inc. was established in 2001. For
more information, visit www.niagaraceltic.com.